Joomla 1.7 - 1 Click Upgrades are Here!
The soon to be released Joomla 1.7 update will bring with it quite a few new features, including the ability for most users to benefit from a much easier upgrade process with 'once click updates', security enhancements, batch processing of articles, and more.
In the past Joomla's update process between minor versions typically meant downloading a patch from Joomla's server, and manually uploading files to your Joomla directory, replacing the old files with the new patched ones. The process of updating has been made much easier with Joomla 1.7 and onward, with the ability to update being added right into the Joomla admin area.
Tutorials on updating Joomla and / or installing a fresh copy of Joomla 1.7 may be seen here:
- How to Upgrade 1.6 to 1.7 http://docs.joomla.org/Upgrade_1.6.5_to_1.7
- How to Upgrade 1.5 to 1.7 http://docs.joomla.org/Upgrade_1.5_to_1.7
- How to install 1.7 http://docs.joomla.org/Install_1.7
The release of Joomla 1.7 is also the first release in Joomla's new release cycle, which was implemented to allow for more regularly scheduled updates, with a six month release cycle between versions.
The infographic on the right shows a visual breakdown of the new release cycle for Joomla (click to enlarge). Thanks to Sander Potjer and the Joomla Community for putting together this great visual overview!
The implementation of this new release cycle with official support for previous versions being dropped quite rapidly will bring with it an increased importance to update Joomla to the latest version. And thanks to the Joomla devs, you now will have a way to do it right from your Joomla admin.
Some other key updates to look for in Joomla 1.7 include:
- The ability to create a search menu option with pre-defined search options.
- Better example code for different plug-in-types.
- The ability to automatically validate form data during the save operation, making it easier to protect against hackers who might try to manipulate forms.
- Submit article form can be set to automatically set article category - thus allowing Admins to restrict users to specific categories for content addition.
- Batch processing of articles allowing copying and moving of multiple items, as is done with categories and menu items.
- Multi-language improvements.
More information about Joomla 1.7 may be seen at the following:
- FAQ: http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1470-need-to-know-17.html
- Quick video demo of upgrades: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7U9UisLEg
We encourage all of our readers to update to Joomla 1.7 as soon as possible after its release : http://www.joomla.org
